Home Office

Eurostar: Immigration Controls

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 29 March (HL Deb, col 900) that “assessment is made of the throughput of traffic and gates are opened and closed accordingly”, why no biometric gates were open at the St Pancras Eurostar terminal on 30 March at a time of maximum traffic; and whether they intend to review their assessment procedure to avoid a recurrence of delays.

baroness williams of trafford: The biometric gates at St Pancras Eurostar terminal are owned by Eurostar and operated by French Police aux frontieres. They are part of the French border control process and they dictate the hours of operation.  The Eurostar Gare du Nord to St Pancras route has a juxtaposed control in place and the UK Border checks are carried out at Gare du Nord. I can confirm the UK biometric gates were open between 0500-1900 on the 30 March 2018.

Passports: Albania

baroness doocey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many false or fraudulently obtained Albanian biometric passports have been detected or confiscated in the past three years.

baroness williams of trafford: The information requested is not held in a reportable format.

Passports

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the then Immigration Minister was invited to visit De La Rue’s Gateshead site during the tender process for the new British passports; if so, whether that invitation was accepted; and if not, who made the decision not to accept the invitation, and on what basis.

baroness williams of trafford: The former Immigration Minister has not been invited by De La Rue to visit their Gateshead site at any point during the procurement process.

Driving: Licensing

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement bythe Earl of Courtown on 16 April (HL Deb, col 1012), what guidance they have issued to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as to how they should, in the exercise of their statutory duties, treat members of the Windrush generation; and how they intend to remedy any adverse actions such as the withdrawal of licences already taken.

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement bythe Earl of Courtown on 16 April (HL Deb, col 1012), what amended guidance they propose to issue to (1) banks, (2) landlords, (3) employers, and (5) other private bodies subject to statutory duties in relation to the control of immigration, to protect the Windrush generation from further disadvantage or discrimination.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Secretary announced that a dedicated team will be set up to help the Windrush generation to evidence their right to be in the UK and to access the benefits and services to which they are entitled.We are considering the need for additional guidance to partner agencies in support of this.

British Nationality: Hong Kong

lord craig of radley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Immigration on 19 March (HC132570), when a decision will be made on the request of 301 British Hong Kong Servicemen to be granted British citizenship, made in a petition handed to the then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015 and subsequently raised by a delegation of those servicemen at a meeting with the Home Secretary Amber Rudd in November 2017.

baroness williams of trafford: We have received a number of representations on this matter, all of which are being carefully considered and a decision will be made as soon as practicable.

Asylum: Torture

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to change their definition of torture in relation to the treatment of asylum claims and related legal proceedings; and, if so, whether they intend to table debates in both Houses of Parliament on those plans before they are implemented.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government laid draft revised statutory guidance before Parliament on 21 March 2018, and the corresponding statutory instruments on 27 March, to implement a new definition of torture for the purposes of immigration detention. The statutory instruments and guidance give effect to a recent High Court judgment and are subject to the negative resolution procedure.

Immigrants: Detainees

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 16 April (HL6835), whether they will consider implementing a maximum length of time for which vulnerable people, including LGBT asylum seekers, can be detained for immigration purposes.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government currently has no plans to introduce a maximum time limit on immigration detention, either generally or for particular groups, such as those who identify as LGBT. A time limit would only encourage individuals, including foreign national offenders who present a risk to the public, to frustrate immigration and asylum procedures until they reach a point at which they would have to be released. This would impact significantly on the Government’s ability to enforce immigration controls and maintain public safety.

Immigration

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to reassess their "hostile environment" policy.

baroness williams of trafford: The Compliant Environment is not a new concept. It is a renewed effort to develop an immigration system which supports compliance with our laws and Immigration Rules. Successive Governments have brought forward policies to protect the UK taxpayer from the misuse of public services and benefits and those policies are regularly reviewed.In developing the Compliant Environment, we have ensured that those with lawful immigration status can demonstrate it easily. We take the quality of our decision making very seriously; we offer the right to redress and have also built in appropriate safeguards, taking careful account of the need to protect vulnerable persons and to mitigate the risk of taking decisions incorrectly. We will continue to keep those safeguards under review.

Passports: Hong Kong

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a record has been kept of the proportion of the 500 passports allocated to members of the Hong Kong Service Corps under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 Selection Scheme that were taken up.

baroness williams of trafford: Successful applicants and their dependants under the Hong Kong Nationality scheme were granted British citizenship. They were then entitled to apply for a passport at any time and continue to be able to do so today. No figures exist on how many passports have been issued, including renewals over the passage of time.

Refugees

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response to the recommendations of the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees, Refugees Welcome.

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the recommendation for a national refugee integration strategy in the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees report,Refugees Welcome, is included in the Integrated Communities Strategy.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government published the Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper on 14th March. This includes proposals on the future of integration support for refugees. The Green Paper sets out that the Government will work with civil society to increase integration support for refugees recognised after arrival in the UK. This recognises the importance that we place on integration for all refugees. The Green Paper also sets out plans to develop, with the Department for Education and the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government, a new national English language Strategy for England; and plans to share best practice and build on learning about what works in relation to support for refugees on employment, English language, mental health and cultural orientation. The Government will further develop these proposals with input from a range of stakeholders. Consultation on the Green Paper is open until 5th June.

Refugees: Syria

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the military action in Syria, they have given any consideration to taking more than the 20,000 refugees to which they have already committed.

baroness williams of trafford: The UK has committed to resettling 20,000 of the most vulnerable refugees affected by the Syria conflict by the year 2020 through our Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, and we have no plans to increase this at the present time. This commitment is in addition to those we resettle through our Vulnerable Children’s, Gateway and Mandate schemes, and the thousands who receive protection in the UK under normal asylum procedures.Resettlement is only one part of the solution to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Our priorities are humanitarian aid and actively seeking an end to the conflict in Syria. We believe this approach is the best way to ensure that the UK’s help has the greatest impact for the majority of refugees who remain in the region and their host countries.We have begun work with key stakeholders and international organisations on our future Asylum and Resettlement Strategy, which includes consideration of the UK’s resettlement offer beyond 2020.

Department for Transport

Air Traffic Control

lord northbrook: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the process for downgrading airspace from controlled to uncontrolled.

baroness sugg: The independent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for overseeing the design of UK airspace. The process to request the CAA to approve a proposal for an airspace change is set out in its relevant guidance document, CAP 1616, which came into effect on 2nd January 2018.

Ministry of Defence

Syria: Military Intervention

baroness cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to withdraw support from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), following reports that the FSA were responsible for the roadside bomb which killed a British soldier in Manbij on 29 March.

earl howe: The UK is not providing support to the Free Syrian Army. The Government will not provide any additional information on the circumstances surrounding the death of Sgt Tonroe.

Syria: Military Intervention

baroness cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about the laying of a roadside bomb in Manbij, Syria, reportedly by allies of Turkey, which killed a British soldier on 29 March.

earl howe: The Government will not provide any additional information on the circumstances surrounding the death of Sgt Tonroe.

Astute Class Submarines

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the planned date of the launch ceremony of the seventh Astute class submarine.

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the planned paying off date for the last Trafalgar class submarine in Royal Navy service.

earl howe: There are no current Ministry of Defence plans for a launch ceremony for the seventh Astute class submarine at this time. The planned out-of-service and in-service dates for Royal Navy submarines are withheld as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Warships: Cruise Missiles

lord empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that the Royal Navy has the capability to launch cruise missiles from surface ships.

earl howe: Royal Navy warships are equipped with an array of offensive and defensive weapons to enable them to fulfil their operational roles. UK land attack is ably provided by submarines which can launch Tomahawk missiles.

Department for Exiting the European Union

EU Law

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the impact on the UK of economic divergence from EU rules and regulations after Brexit.

lord callanan: We are focused on making the UK’s exit from the EU, and our new trading relationship with the world, a success. We have set out proposals for an ambitious future trade and customs relationship with the EU, in which we will look to minimise the regulatory barriers for both goods and services between the UK and the EU. The Government has been undertaking rigorous and extensive analysis work to support our exit negotiations, as any responsible Government should, in order to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. We have been engaging with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK as part of this process, and we will continue to do so as we move forward. We have been clear the Government will not provide an ongoing commentary on internal analytical work that is being carried out within Government.

Schengen Agreement

lord bowness: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, after the UK leaves the EU, UK citizens entering a Schengen country on a 90 day visa will, after their return to the UK upon its expiry, have to wait a further three months before they are able to enter another Schengen country without becoming an illegal migrant in that country; and if so, what action they propose to avoid that outcome.

lord callanan: The rules that will apply to UK nationals travelling to the EU in future, and EU citizens travelling to the UK are issues that have not yet been discussed with the EU. In her Mansion House speech, the Prime Minister set out our ambition to agree an appropriate and reciprocal labour mobility framework that will enable UK businesses and professionals to travel and provide services. We are carefully considering our options and will discuss these matters with the EU in due course.